Simultaneous wavelength translation and amplitude modulation of single photons from a quantum dot

Phys Rev Lett. 2011 Aug 19;107(8):083602. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.083602. Epub 2011 Aug 16.

Abstract

Hybrid quantum information devices that combine disparate physical systems interacting through photons offer the promise of combining low-loss telecommunications wavelength transmission with high fidelity visible wavelength storage and manipulation. The realization of such systems requires control over the waveform of single photons to achieve spectral and temporal matching. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the simultaneous wavelength translation and amplitude modulation of single photons generated by a quantum dot emitting near 1300 nm with an exponentially decaying waveform (lifetime ≈1.5 ns). Quasi-phase-matched sum-frequency generation with a pulsed 1550 nm laser creates single photons at 710 nm with a controlled amplitude modulation at 350 ps time scales.